A Festival of Love
by Gohan Roxas
Summary: Ylisse is repairing from the devastating war with Plegia. Lissa thinks that a few high-profile weddings will raise the people's spirits, and this is a plan that even the great tactician can escape from. Post-Chapter 11 of FE:A. Garion (Avatar) x Cordelia, mentions others. Rated for innuendo.


_**This little thingus is based a little off my most-recent (finished) Awakening playthrough, where I had the Avatar (named Garion, obviously) marry Cordelia. This led to two things: over-powered versions of Severa and Morgan, and this.**_

* * *

"Seriously, Chrom?" the dark-haired man muttered, his voice half in a sneer.

"Don't look at me, Garion," the one named Chrom defended himself. "This was all Lissa's idea."

"This is _your_ halidom, Chrom. _You_ make the decisions."

"Not when Lissa gets **the look**."

They were in an antechamber of Castle Ylisstol, discussing the hare-brained scheme – regardless of from whom it originated – to begin an annual Festival of Love in Ylisse's capital. It was meant to be a way to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the Second Ylisse-Plegia war, as well as a way to repair the people's broken spirits.

Chrom and Garion were not alone. The ever-present Frederick hovered over the Prince like he was expecting an assassin to appear out of thin air at any time. Nearby, the laidback Stahl was sitting in a light green shirt and black pants, a large array of foods in front of him.

"Okay, when you say 'the look', what do you mean?" the tactician asked.

Chrom nodded to Stahl, who'd looked up from his one-man buffet table. The brown-haired man pulled a face that seemed to be a fusion of rage and demand all at the same time. Then his face returned to its usual self. "Think that, only ten times worse."

Garion's eye twitched. "Gods…if it's worse than that, then I can actually understand how she got you over a barrel, Chrom."

Chrom shot him a well-natured glare before chuckling slightly.

"So…what exactly does this Festival entail?"

"Mostly celebrations of the coalition between Ylisse and Regna Ferox, as well as the usual festival fodder. Carnival attractions, food stalls, markets."

"The weddings," Stahl said shortly around a mouthful of cheese, though it sounded more like "Fa febbigs."

Garion blinked. "Weddings?"

"Well, in case you forgot to notice, we've all gotten close to someone recently."

"You mean 'engaged'."

"Yes. Lissa believed that the Festival would be the perfect time for the weddings to happen. Me and Sumia, Lissa and Stahl…"

Even though he knew it was coming, Stahl choked a little on his cheese.

Chrom continued down the list. "…Lon'qu and Olivia, Vaike and Maribelle, Gaius and Panne, Miriel and Kellam, Sully and Donnel…"

Garion could see where his friend was going. "And me and Cordelia, right?"

"Indeed," Frederick said, speaking for the first time, his stony face softening a little.

The tactician gulped. "As in…public?"

"As grand as milord's will be," the knight smiled, indicating Chrom.

"Oh you have got…"

* * *

"…to be kidding, Lissa!"

"Why not, Cordelia?" the princess pouted. "You're an Ylissean Pegasus Knight, and Garion's our tactician! You've gotta have a grand wedding!"

"No, I don't!"

At the exact same time as Garion, Chrom and Stahl were conversing, their other halves – Cordelia, Sumia and Lissa respectively – were having a very similar discussion. The major difference, however, was that all three of the men were against the idea of the festival, whereas Cordelia was outnumbered in her opposing of it.

"Come on, Cordelia," Sumia smiled sweetly, picking at a flower – a habit that irritated Cordelia more now than it had before. "It'll be fun! Besides, you'll get a beautiful dress to make you look even more gorgeous than usual!"

The redhead shook her head vigorously. "No. Besides, even if I got married, it'd be in my armour."

"Forget that!" Lissa protested. "It'll look weird for Garion to be in dress clothes while you're in armour." Her eyes glinted suddenly. "Besides, it'll cause issues on the night…if you know what I mean."

Cordelia's face became as scarlet as her hair.

"It's not just you, Cordelia," Sumia assured her, regaining her composure (several flower petals had gone flying everywhere when Lissa had delivered the innuendo). "Pretty much all of us are getting married. Even Miriel."

"Not Ricken and Nowi," the other woman murmured.

"That's because Ricken's only thirteen. That's a little young, don't you think?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Cordelia!" Lissa begged. "Please?"

"Alright, fine. But I pick the dress."

Lissa's eyes were glinting menacingly – or was that just her imagination? "Sorry, Cordelia, but we already picked one.

_I'm going to regret this, aren't I?_

* * *

"I'm glad I got to pick my own suit," Garion growled, tugging at his black dress jacket. "Those ones Virion recommended would've made me look and feel like a maypole."

Chrom chuckled from nearby. He was wearing a blue and white suit; fitting, seeing as those were the two colours most associated with Ylisse.

Standing next to the prince was Stahl, his suit all green. The knight seemed to only own green clothes, much like Sully only owned red.

Frederick was not with them, which was odd. He was apparently busy giving a demonstration of martial prowess in town, though Garion had his suspicions about where he truly was.

The tactician dug into his pocket and pulled out the rather large ring. It bore a stylised version of Chrom's own Brand of the Exalt; seeing as Garion's own heritage was unknown, Chrom had designed a family symbol for his friend himself and had the resident jeweller create a signet ring for him to give his new bride.

"It feels strange," Garion murmured.

"What does?" Chrom asked.

"I only just got a signet ring and family crest and I'm already giving it away." The tactician gave a wry smirk.

His friend laughed aloud. "Well, that's one way to put it."

"You'll be getting it back, in a way," Stahl assured him, pulling a small loaf of bread from what seemed to be thin air.

"Huh. I suppose I will. Thanks, Stahl."

"No problem," the knight replied, though around the bread it sounded like "Mo flobben."

Bells rang out at the castle's in-built chapel.

"That's our signal," Chrom chuckled, standing up from his stool. "Time to go."

Garion sighed. "This is one eventuality I have no strategy to get out of." Then he grinned. "Though I suppose that's not that bad, considering."

* * *

Cordelia looked herself up and down in the mirror. _I knew I'd regret this._

The dress she wore was of a billowing white, with what Maribelle had called diamantes on it here and there. She was even wearing a small tiara that Lissa had loaned her – "I've got too many of them, anyway," the princess had giggled.

In truth, the dress – and Cordelia herself – looked gorgeous. The bride could only see one problem.

It wasn't as "chest-flattering" as her armour.

A little-known fact about Cordelia was that she was very ashamed of how flat-chested she was, which was why she was always wearing her armour, which she had had custom-made to create the illusion of her bust being larger than it actually was.

Truthfully, however, Cordelia wasn't as flat-chested as she made herself out to be. Yes, her breasts were smaller than they appeared in her armour, but they were of a modest size – not too big, not too small.

"You look beautiful, Cordelia," Olivia smiled, clapping her hands together. She wore a small pink dress that matched her hair, while Lissa and Sumia wore longer dresses of different hues; Lissa's was a light yellow, and Sumia's was blue. Both of the latter also wore tiaras to show their status, seeing as how Sumia was now technically the Queen of Ylisse (she and Chrom had married on the first day of the week-long Festival).

There was a silence after the Feroxi dancer's statement, before Cordelia smiled shyly. "I suppose I do."

"You suppose?" Lissa asked indignantly. "If I were a guy and you weren't already getting hitched, I'd be sweeping you off your feet right now!"

"Uh…thanks," the bride sweat-dropped. She moved to a nearby dressing table and picked up the heavy ring that was surmounted by a glowing red stone; the stone was engraved with her family's crest. This ring had once belonged to her father, and he'd given it to her just a month before his untimely death.

"Take this, my dear," he'd said, that kind smile on his face. "Give it to the man you love above all others."

A small tear fell from her eye, causing the other women in the room to gasp.

"Cordelia, you OK?" Sumia asked.

"Hmm? Oh. Yes, I'm fine. Just wishing my father could be here to see this."

A second set of church bells rang, indicating that the groom had arrived.

Lissa grinned. "We really shouldn't keep your soul-mate waiting!"

Cordelia giggled a little. "No. We shouldn't."

* * *

Much like all the other weddings that had occurred during Lissa's festival, Libra officiated the ceremony. Garion couldn't tell you the words to his vows afterwards if you asked, as his attention was solely on the beauty of his bride. In fact, it took a push from Chrom for him to even say "I do".

They were in a suite now. Apparently it used to be Lissa's, before Emmeryn had become Exalt.

Garion and Cordelia sat awkwardly on the bed. They were no longer wearing their suit and dress, but were instead wearing their sleeping clothes.

"So…" Garion began.

"So…" his new wife repeated.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Cordelia turned his head so he was looking directly at her. "You know," she murmured to him, her confidence half-feigned, "I believe it is customary for the bride and groom to consummate their relationship on the night of the wedding."

Garion went beet red. "A-are you sure? I-I mean, I don't want to…pressure you or anything. I-if you don't want to…"

Then Cordelia kissed him seriously. They didn't discuss the matter again for the rest of the night.

Well, not with words, anyway.

* * *

Cordelia woke early, as she always did. Her body had become accustomed to waking early to train, tend to her weaponry, armour and pegasus, among other menial tasks.

She felt a pressure on her chest and looked down to see an arm wrapped around her. It was Garion's arm. Smiling, she remembered the night before. She wouldn't need to wake early and tend to her usual tasks anymore.

Chuckling to herself, she settled back into the bed, returning to the embrace of sleep, and her husband.

* * *

_**Did you like it? I hope you did.**_


End file.
